Interview with Beth Anne Nagel, Author of Cry of My Heart – Meditations & Prayers for Adoptive Moms

Hello,

I’m pleased to bring you this interview with Beth Anne Nagel, author of Cry of My Heart – Meditations & Prayers for Adoptive Moms.

Please enjoy!

Best,

Vincent Lowry

Interview:

1) What is your author name and in what state do you live (or country if not in the US)?My author name is Beth Anne Nagel. I live in Michigan.

2) What is the title of your newest book and what is the genre?My book is entitled “Cry of My Heart.” It is a Non-Ficton Devotinal for Adoptive Moms

3) What is the book about? “Cry of My Heart”  is a collection of personal stories  taken from my own experience as an adoptive mom of 3, and the unique challenges many adoptive moms face when raising children who started out life in traumatic situations.

4) Where did you come up with the idea?I started a FaceBook group  for adoptive moms like myself that was a safe place to share struggles and to pray for ourselves and our kids. One of the members asked me to consider printing a compilation of the prayers I had been typing each day. Once I had that completed, I asked for volunteers to proofread and provide feedback. A copy fell into the hands of a friend of a friend who happened to be a publisher. Eventually my two printed pages of prayers grew into a book of 52 meditations and prayers for adoptive moms.

5) How long did it take you to write it?It was a little over two years in the making as I managed my FaceBook group. Once I had more direction it took about six months to complete.

6) Did you learn anything from the project?I learned that writing so directly from my own heart is physically and emotionally exhausting. But if your words flow from your heart out to you fingers on the keyboard, your work will connect with the hearts and lives of those who read it.

7) Do you have an author website and/or blog? How about a book video?I started a YouTube channel that currently has a handful of videos. One is what I would call a promotional video in which I explain what I’m up to and ask friends and family to give a donation toward my publishing costs. My intent is to create more videos once my super special IT husband gets the updated tech in place. I have a couple of blogs I started years ago but they are not related to Cry of My Heart. I have a FaceBook page called “Cry of My Heart Book” and an author profile on KDP.

8) Do you have any success tips to pass on to fellow authors? How about any great editors/cover artists? If you believe you are supposed to write a book, don’t give up. The writing process is hard work that often causes you to question if you have anything worth saying. Sometimes it will feel like you are forcing something out. Go ahead anyway. That’s what editing is for. Don’t be afraid to take a break. Sometimes you have to go jump on the trampoline with your kids, take an unusually long nap, drink more caffeine than you should, and daydream about a book launch date.
The publisher I contracted with also designed my cover. It is beautiful and perfectly matches its contents.

9) What genres do you like to read? Are you open to reading new authors and reviewing their work?I mostly read fiction. I like mysteries, crime, historical fiction. I’d love to find a good author of Christian fiction that is not the standard romance. Like seriously. I also spend a lot of time on classic non-fiction Christian writers like C.S. Lewis, Watchman Nee, or John MacArthur. If it’s a topic that interests me enough to feel I would be giving a fair review, I would happily do so.

10) What is your favorite book of all time and why? The first novel I ever read was “The Neverending Story.” I was ten years old. Before then I had never experienced a work that drew me  so completely into the story I forgot my own surroundings. It was glorious and the beginning of my love of word crafting.

11) Fun Question: Do you have any pets? If so, what kind?We have 4 black cats. They are named, Linus, Lucy, Sally, and Schroeder. We have a dog named Kyla. She is super needy and drives the rest of the family crazy with whining if I leave the house without her. We also have around 50 chickens. Our rooster is Jack Sparrow. Most of the hens don’t have specific names, but one hen I took to when she was just a couple days old is named Goldie. She has a scissor beak which makes it tougher for her to eat, and she is blind in one eye. I trained her to sit on my fore arm and “kiss” me on the cheek.

12) Fun Question 2: Do you own an electronic reading device? If so, what kind and how do you like it? I use the Kindle app on an android tablet. It is my preferred way of reading in bed because nothing sucks more than dropping a novel on your face. For non-fiction I prefer to have an actual book because I highlight, underline, circle, and make notes.

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